Posts Tagged ‘free agency’

Vincent Jackson: Just Say No

I’m against signing Vincent Jackson, to see an argument for signing VJ, check out my friends at DC Sports Chat.

I'm Vincent Jackson and I do not approve of this post

At first glance Vincent Jackson appears to be everything I’ve wanted in a wide receiver since the Redskins parted ways with Art Monk in 1994. He’s big…no he’s huge, standing 6’5” and weighing 230+ lbs. He’s a great possession receiver (90% of his receptions resulted in 1st downs last season) but he can also stretch the field (he’s averaged 17.5 yards per reception for his career). What rookie QB, or veteran for that matter, wouldn’t want that kind of frame to lean on in the red zone? That’s the good stuff, now we need to get over the his physical attributes and break down the entire package. Simply put, the signing of Vincent Jackson may look good from afar, but it’s far from good.

First off, we have to address Jackson’s prior off-field transgressions, namely his 2 DWI’s. That’s not one…but 2 Utah, 2! The 2 DWI’s landed Jackson in the NFL’s substance abuse program and he was suspended for the first 3 games of the 2010 NFL season. So, like Fred Davis and Trent Williams, Jackson faces a 1 year suspension for further violations. Can you imagine 3 of your best players on offense (25% of your offense) being a couple of beers or a bong hit away from being suspended for the entire season?

Next, we have to look at Jackson’s lack of qualifying as what I would call an “elite” receiver. VJ’s never caught more than 68 passes in a season and has caught 60+ balls just twice in his 7 NFL seasons. Jabar Gaffney has 55 more receptions than Jackson over those 7 seasons. Jackson has 37 career receiving TD’s, not a large amount over 7 seasons, in fact it’s less than the likes of Braylon Edwards, Lee Evans and Roy Williams over the same time period.

Finally, lets look at VJ’s history of disappearing in games. Last season Jackson had 10 games when he had 3 or fewer receptions and 6 games of 2 or fewer receptions. As the guys at Ball Hogs Radio pointed out, that’s not the stat line of an ‘elite’ receiver. It takes 4 seasons for Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald to accumulate that many games of 3 or fewer catches. You also have to consider that Phillip Rivers threw a career-high 582 times last season, or 37 times a game…but VJ is catching just 3 balls or less?!

Simply put, Vincent Jackson is not an elite wide receiver and has way too much baggage to be paid like one. However, some team is going to do it…I just hope it’s not the Redskins.

Cheers and Hail

Redskins Free Agency: Show The WR’s The Money

Despite drafting 3 wide receivers in this years draft, including a potential starter in Leonard Hankerson, the WR position remains a huge hole for the Redskins. The Redskins must sign a top tier WR via free agency, but exactly how are they going to do that? Well, they’re going to have to do what they do best…overpay.

How else can you expect the Redskins to sign a premier WR on the open market? What do the Redskins have to offer Santonio Holmes or Sidney Rice? I’ll tell you, they got John Beck and a 10W-22L record over the past 2 seasons. Super Bowl caliber teams like the Bears, Chargers, Jets and Patriots are rumored to be in the market for the same WR’s the Redskins will be targeting when free agency begins. So, if you’re an free agent who can catch 60-70 balls a year from Tom Brady and have a chance to win the Super Bowl the next 3 years, or catch 80 from John Beck and go 5-11 next season…which team would you choose? I’d choose the Patriots myself, unless the Redskins offered an extra $10 million. So, Redskins fans…don’t bitch and moan if the Redskins overpay at this position, it’s something they have to do.

Before I breakdown my top 5 free agent WR’s the Redskins may target via free agency let’s look at the current roster to see just how thin we are at this position.

Anthony Armstrong - great story, great work ethic…but let’s be honest, there was a reason he is an AFL veteran and he’s best suited as a 3rd WR.

Terrence Austin - will not make the 2011 roster.

Brandon Banks - special teams and gimmick plays are his forte…if he makes the team.

Mike Furrey - will not make the 2011 roster.

Leonard Hankerson - great pick and may start this season (especially if we don’t sign any of the guys below). However, rookie WR’s rarely post big #’s their first couple seasons.

Tauras Johnson - who? The Tauras was a shitty car.

Malcolm Kelly - can’t rely of him being healthy, his roster spot is as fragile as his body.

Niles Paul - expect him to contribute on special teams but little more in 2011.

Maurice Price - who?

Aldrick Robinson - destined for the practice squad.

Roydell Williams - if he is our go-to guy on 3rd downs again next season I’m turning in my fan card.

Now, here’s a look at my top 5 free agent targets along with my predictions of what the Redskins chances are of signing each player and where each player will ultimately wind up.

1. Sidney Rice

Rice is my #1 target for several reasons, the first one being that he can make a bad quarterback look good…we will need that. Brett Favre had his best season 2 years ago by simply throwing up his crazy ass passes that Rice and his 6’4” frame jumped up and grabbed from defenders. He’s only 24 years old and seems to be a pretty model citizen compared to some other free agent WR’s. I also have Rice targeted #1 because I believe the Redskins have a legitimate chance to sign him. Rice is represented by Drew Rosenhaus, who has a great relationship with the Redskins. “Great relationship” meaning he can get Dan Snyder to fork over a huge signing bonus while eating a steak at Morton’s. Could be Shanny’s B&G version of Brandon Marshall.

Chances the Redskins sign him: 75%
2011 Team: Redskins

2. Santonio Holmes

Holmes is a big game player who already has a Super Bowl MVP. The Jets want him back badly but he’ll be looking for the biggest payday as he’s a bad step away from another suspension. The most guaranteed money just may win out…which gives the Redskins a fighting chance.

Chances the Redskins sign him: 50%
2011 Team: Jets

3. Santana Moss

I’d love to see Santana back but my concern is he signs for a little less money to play for a contender. He’s on record as saying that he’d like to comeback, but I can see him in CHI, NE or SD. My hope is that Rosenhaus (represents Moss also) talks the Danny into signing both Moss and Rice as a package deal. Don’t be surprised if this happens, Drew and Danny have worked out deals like that before.

Chances the Redskins sign him: 50%
2011 Team: Bears

4. Braylon Edwards

The Redskins have been rumored to be both interested and not interested in Edwards depending upon which web sources you follow. I hope, I pray that they aren’t interested. He played pretty well last season in his contract year but this is the kind of player who’ll roll over on you like AH. No, no, no!

Chances the Redskins sign him: 33%
2011 Team: Dolphins

5. Jacoby Jones

Ok, he’s not the 5th best free agent WR available…he may not be the 10th or 15th but he knows the offense well and could be plugged in immediately at the #2 or #3 WR position should all else fail. He had a nice 4 game stretch to end last season, catching over 20 balls.

Chances the Redskins sign him: 60%
2011 Team: Redskins

Other WR’s to consider: James Jones, Mike Sims-Walker, Lance Moore

Cheers and Hail

Larry Johnson…Yes, No, Maybe?

I must say that when I wrote last week about the Redskins having a slow developing plan and how I couldn’t wait to see how it played out, I never imagined the scenario of the Skins signing another 30+ running back. I mean, I’m still surprised we didn’t get rid of the one we had! 30+ running backs are supposed to be over the hill, so why are we collecting them?

On paper, I don’t like this signing at all… but the games are not played on paper, they are played by little men inside our TV’s…thanks for that line Kenny Mayne. Something tells me in my gut that LJ may have something left in the tank and maybe that’s what the Skins game plan is, gut decisions. Hey, 40 GUT was a zone blocking play, right?

Anyway, the signing of LJ is curious. Again, I didn’t think a 30+ running back was an option, and if it is/was, I’m not sure LJ was the right choice. I’ve heard arguments made that although LJ is going to be 31, he still hasn’t had a ton of carries in his career. To that I would respond that he’s had 3 straight years of declining productivity and he hasn’t had a lot of carries because he’s gotten himself in a lot of trouble over the years. I’ve also heard the argument that LJ didn’t have a good offensive line with KC last season and when given the chance in Cincy he played well. To that I would respond that Jamaal Charles rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 6 yards per carry in the 8 games after LJ left. LJ averaged 2.9 ypc and had only 377 yards in 7 games with the same line.

Of the 5 30ish RB’s in the free agent market (Taylor, Parker, Tomlinson & Jones,) LJ has had the fewest yards per carry (3.8) and appeared in the fewest games over the past 3 seasons. In fact, LJ’s statistics pale in comparison to these guys…especially Thomas Jones. Thomas Jones has averaged nearly 1,400 yards and 10 TD’s over the last 3 seasons while showing no signs of slowing down. Why not Thomas Jones?

I’m not ready to call this signing a disaster, it may turn out well? LJ has tried to find common ground with Skins fans by announcing that he is a lifelong fan. Evidently he grew up rooting for the Redskins and hating the Cowboys. That’s cool, but in the process of describing his Skins loyalty, he ran the bus over one of the most beloved Skins of all-time. Tomorrow, I will post my Gary Clark autograph story.

Cheers and Hail

Redskins: A Booty Call No More

Siskel & Ebert gave Booty Call 2 Thumbs up?

It was what every NFL agent and every NFL player anxiously awaited, the middle of the night phone call from Ashburn, VA asking…do you want to come over? The agent and player might put up a soft fight for a little bit, “I don’t know it’s late, you know I’m sorta seeing the Giants right now.” But, they would be won over by the private plane rides and the wining, dining and …the money!

But, all is quiet at Ashburn this year and Redskins fans don’t quite know what to think. We, as fans, have been trained to expect the big name free agents to come to Redskins Park to not only visit, but to sign lucrative contracts that we can both praise and bitch about. This is the way things work, right? Not this year. Redskins One sits quietly at Dulles Airport and the pilots have had some unexpected time off. Agents are checking the batteries of their cell phones to make sure they are working properly, the free-agent tracker has nothing to track and Morton’s business is way off compared to last year.

The booty calls have been reversed and now it’s the agents calling and begging if their clients can come over. It’s the Redskins saying “you can, but I’ll tell you right now nothings going to happen.” The Morton’s steaks have been replaced with an intern placing an order at Chick Fil A. The private jet has been replaced by train and bus tickets. Terl’s dropping Randle El off at Union Station, he can pick up Willie Parker at the same time.

Ok, I am embellishing the story a little bit. Of course the Redskins brass is still going to dine at Morton’s or The Palm. But, by not making major changes so far in free agency, it proves that things have indeed majorly changed. It’s a new day at Redskins Park…so far that has meant addition by subtraction. And so far, I’m happy with that. The only possible free agent I personally liked was Darren Sproles, who never made it to free agency (I think the Redskins may have made a move on him had he become available.) I can’t shed any tears over the cuts the Redskins made, although I appreciate the time the players spent in burgundy and gold (except for Randle El.)

The Redskins still have major holes to fill and I expect they have a master plan on how to do that. It’s obviously a slow developing plan and not an immediate results plan, which tells me that Dan Snyder is not calling these shots. Again, addition by subtraction. But, I did hear that Dan called Vinny the other night in the wee hours of the night, just for old time sake…”you wanna come over?”

Cheers and Hail

Editors Note: While writing this post I realized I am so old that when I was a college aged kid making booty calls there were no cell phones, internet, email, texting or Skype. I had to do the 1 ring and hang up phone call technique, hoping that some chick would hear it and call me back. The moral of the story? Women should rejoice that I never had such forms of mass communication in my heyday, I would have been a drunken pain in the ass.

Great News… The Recession Is Over

By 9am this morning the Skins have inked 2 of the best free agents available. They’ve retained Deangelo Hall @ $55 million, and added the prize of free agency Albert Haynesworth for another $100 million. But, apparently they are not finished. “Fish on,” with Chris Canty, Ray Willis, and Derrick Dockery. As a fan, I’m excited as hell. Haynesworth is a beast. Hall is a difference maker. Dockery was our best offensive lineman 2 years ago. Canty and Willis would be definite upgrades.

As an honest, hard working American struggling thru the hardest economic times I will ever see in my lifetime, I’m confused. I wrote a post the other day in which I went shopping for free agents. I was shopping at Target (tar-j), Mr. Snyder is still shopping at Nieman Marcus (needless markup.) You see, I thought the Redskins were suffering as well. Only 8 million below the cap (I’m assuming big time cuts are coming to cover the spending splurge,) and I was a little thrown off by the firing of nearly 30 (at least) employees in early January. Or maybe it was the second round of layoffs just a couple weeks back.

So while I’m excited as a fan about the product that I will see on the field next fall, I’m not comfortable with the ethics of the organization. 40 employees at an average of 50k per year = 2 million. The teams salary cap for players is $127 million, which by smoke and mirrors the Skins will exceed. Add another 15-20 million for the coaching staff and front office. $155 million committed to just 2 players! It just doesn’t add up.

40 employees lives crushed, their spouses and children deeply effected. Is it all worth it? I think not. There is no grey area here, it’s black and white, there is a right and a wrong. And…it’s just wrong. If the Danny has any integrity he would pick up the phone and personally call the individuals he laid off. He should offer them their jobs back and apologize. But we all know that would never happen.

He’s at Morton’s wining and dining the next player, ordering off the menu, and dangling million$$ in their faces.

Cheers and Hail

Fire Up Redskins One